


Stormy Night

by Tien



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-20
Updated: 2012-03-20
Packaged: 2017-11-02 06:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/366182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tien/pseuds/Tien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Karkat Vantas has a fear of storms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stormy Night

**Author's Note:**

> It was storming out so I wrote something real quick for it.
> 
> It's fluffy and adorable.  
> Also a cross-post from my DA

"Heh heh the wind's really howling out there Karkat."

"Y-Yeah, great." He said quietly, his eyes trained on the TV. 

John sat down next to the troll and leaned against him. "It's been a while since we had a good storm, this should be cool." Karkat was shivering slightly, "You cold? Karkat why didn't you say anything?" He grabbed one of the big warm fuzzy blankets they kept on the couch in case Karkat did get cold and threw it around the troll. "You never say anything, you don't have to be embarrassed, I already know you can't regulate your body heat well." 

Karkat gripped the blanket tight and pulled it closer to his body. "Thanks."

He resumed leaning against the troll and watching TV. Their lives had become so peaceful since beating the game for good. "Karkat you're still shaking so badly. Are you sure you're ok? Do you need a hot shower?"

"No. I'm fine." 

"You're not though," he pulled the other boy closer to him and hugged him. "You can admit this kind of stuff to me." 

Karkat nodded. The rain was pouring outside and the wind pounded against the windows. "Hey Karkat flip it to the weather station."

"Can't you listen to the wind and figure it out?"

John laughed and waited for Karkat to change the channel. "There's a limit to what I can do. I can tell when a storm is coming, but I can't tell how strong. At least not now, I 'm not sure if my abilities will grow over time." Karkat nodded beside him and watched the screen as well.

"John all that red...that's heading our way right?"

"Yup." He leaned back on the couch and pulled Karkat closer. "It's going to be a pretty good storm! I'm excited!" Karkat shook again. John rubbed his shoulders and said quieter, "Karkat...gosh you're usually not this bad...it's summer you should be fine." Suddenly there was a bright flash of lightning and Karkat froze. "Karkat?" Then the accompanying boom of thunder sounded. The troll flinched and John could hear him chirp under his breath. "Karkat?" Another loud boom could be heard off in the distance and once again Karkat chirped and froze. "Are you...oh gosh, you're scared of storms. You are aren't you?"

"S-Shut up! Please. Just shut up." 

"Karkat...you don't have to be afraid." He pet his head gently as he shook in the blanket. 'At least it made sense now, his shivering.' He continued to tremble and whimper softly.

"God I'm so sorry." He apologized and climbed off of John's lap. "I shouldn't do this anymore. This isn't Alternia."

John continued to rub his back and try to comfort him after every flash. "What happened on Alternia?"

"Alternian storms could kill, they were horrible. Crabdad didn't seem to get it...one night I was caught outside in one, I almost died." The lights flickered and Karkat held his breath. 

"It's ok, don't worry, I'm pretty sure these storms aren't like the ones on Alternia." His words didn't seem to have an effect on Karkat. He was still trembling and his eyes darted back and forth. 

When the tornado sirens went off Karkat lost it. John couldn't even grab him before he took off for some other part of the house. "Karkat!" He shouted getting up to run after him. It was times like these John really hated the fact that trolls were faster than him. "Damn it, Karkat..." He checked the most obvious places first, his room, the other living room, the kitchen, the guest bedroom, but Karkat wasn't to be found. "Karkat!" he called. "There's not too many places he can go..." John started open up closets and looking under cabinets. "Seriously, where the hell could one troll go?" 

John was walking down the hallway to give his room one more look over when he heard the quiet sound of Karkat's whimpering. "Karkat?" John poked his head into the bedroom, he couldn't spot him, then he tried the master bathroom. He could hear the sound clearer. "Karkat, are you in here?" He pulled back the curtain to the shower and found a quivering mass wrapped in a blanket sitting in the tub. "There you are, I was worried." Karkat didn't give any indication that he heard John at all. He just continued to shake and whimper. 

John got in the tub with him and hugged him. "Oh Karkat..." He had no idea why he was so scared, or what happened that night to make him so terrified, all he could do was hold him and reassure him with his voice. He was able to get the troll out of the bathtub and very slowly move him to their bedroom. It was slow going; whenever there was thunder Karkat would freeze and shrink to the ground. Eventually he pulled him up onto the bed and held him tight. All the lights were on and the blinds on the windows were drawn so he couldn't see out. "You're fine Karkat, it's ok." The troll was beginning to relax and uncurl his body. 

"Karkat what happened?"

He didn't reply, instead he focused on breathing. Karkat was so happy to have a Matesprit like John. Someone who just held him without asking questions and comforted him when he was afraid, mad or depressed. The troll felt John's hand move through his hair and around his horns. The other boy calmly pressed down gently then took his hand away. Karkat could feel the rush of calming chemicals take over his brain and he slumped back against John a bit.

"I hope that helps a bit...I didn't do anything wrong did I?" John asked anxiously.

Karkat shook his head. There wasn't enough to render him immobile or anything, just enough to get him to stop shaking. "Thanks for being here for me."

"No problem," he replied and gently kissed Karkat's neck. "You're scared, I've never seen you actually scared...not since the game."

"That night, back on Alternia...I was only three sweeps old. There was a huge storm, the biggest I can remember. On Alternia, the rain can burn depending on where the clouds came from. This was one of those storms. Crabdad had let me go outside to play. It was something rare; I never got to leave my hive because of my blood color. Well anyways, he let me out and I went further than I ever had before. I was in the forest and it was so much fun. It got dark really fast. I couldn't see anything. Then I heard the thunder and saw lightning. I could hear the sirens blaring in the distance. But when I turned around I couldn't find home. I was lost in the dark woods with only the flashes of lightening to light my path. I was so scared, and that was before the rain started falling." Karkat shuddered and John pulled him closer. "It burned. It hurt so badly, each little droplet felt like fire on my skin. I ran blindly through the forest, I kept my eyes closed for fear of burning them too. Eventually I fell on a root and landed in the burning mud. It felt like my clothes were on fire, in my haste and childish stupidity I pulled off my shirt and tossed it aside, now the droplets could burn my whole body."

John kept petting Karkat gently.

"I just curled up under a tree. I thought for sure I was going to die. The flashes of lightning and the overpowering sound of thunder were the only things my senses were picking up. I was shaking so bad, everything hurt and I was crying. The wind blew the rain onto my skin; I could feel it hiss when it contacted my body. Then Crabdad found me. I don't know how he did, but he found me. His shell was burned and scraped but he still searched that whole goddamn forest for me. He scooped me up and carried me back to the hive. I passed out, and honestly don't remember much from that night. After I showered I pretty much hid in the corner of my room until the storm passed. Since then I've had a crippling fear of storms."

Karkat finished his story and rested against John. "Karkat...that must have been so hard. I can't imagine being lost like that, how horrible. I'm glad Crabdad came and got you. I know my dad would have been out looking for me too." The alarms blared again and Karkat gripped John's arm tightly. "It's fine Karkat, it's ok. I won't let anything hurt you." He flipped on the TV in his room in hopes that it would help calm the troll down. The weather channel provided some useful information. "See Karkat? The worst is almost over. Once this line passes we'll be good to go." He moved closer still whimpering softly. "There's not even any tornado warnings in our area." The troll nodded and tried to put on a brave face. 

John got up and put a movie in, one they'd both like and returned to the bed to sit beside Karkat and comfort him. Halfway through the movie the power flickered again and the lights went out. John felt claws dig into his arm and heard Karkat start to panic. "Shoosh, Karkat, it's ok, it was just the power. You're fine." He was hyperventilating pretty bad and his glowing eyes where wide as lightning clearly flashed though the dark room. 

The human tried to calm Karkat down the best he could. He positioned himself so that Karkat was lying down in the bed, the covers drawn over both of them. He pushed Karkat's face to his chest and held him tightly. "It's ok, Karkat, it's ok." He was still breathing hard but he released John's arm from his grip. "Karkat it's ok, shhhhh," he tried to get the troll to relax. He didn't want to use his submissive reflex now, it might send him into a panic. Instead he rubbed small circles in his back and continued to hold him. 

Karkat would make surprised chirping noises whenever there was lightning or a loud crash of thunder. John usually thought his chirping was adorable, but this time it was a fearful sound not a happy or embarrassed one. The boy just held his quivering alien boyfriend until his heart slowed and his breathing followed suit. The storm raged on outside, John wanted to desperately do something to help Karkat. He closed his eyes and willed the wind to blow a bit less, he wasn't all that sure if it worked or not. 

He promised not to use his wind powers that much. The thunder was still loud and the lightning still bright, but the rain was pounding less. Karkat had relaxed again in his arms and was slowly starting to cease shaking as well. A shocked chirp or whimper would still escape his mouth whenever the thunder boomed and shook the house. John still held him firmly under the pile of blankets.

He would kiss the troll softly on the forehead and cheek, and carefully wipe away some of the tears from his face. He knew that Karkat was probably replaying the scenes from his childhood over and over again his mind. John was just gentle and reminded him he was there and wasn't going anywhere.

Eventually the troll fell asleep, exhausted from the ordeal. John stayed up a bit longer watching him sleep and running his hand through his hair gently. Karkat was always so brave; it was a shock to see him so terrified. But everyone has something they're afraid of, John was just glad he knew one of Karkat's biggest fears. He would make sure the troll was never left alone during a storm; he'd always be there for him. 

The two fell asleep holding each other and slept through the end of the storm. When morning arrived the power was still out, causing them both to miss their alarm. But that didn't really matter because the sun filtering in gently through the blinds created a peaceful atmosphere that was so different from the panic and fear saturated one of the previous night. John was content to sleep the day away as long as Karkat was sleeping calmly beside him.


End file.
